Американский Холостяк #20 Ben Higgins

barish

JOJO'S ONE-ON-ONE
Jojo spends her Wrigley Stadium one-on-one in a "Mrs. Higgins" baseball jersey, which kind of sucks. Having a custom jersey is a damn cool memento from The Bachelor experience, but the only way she can later appreciate it without an inkling of disdain is if she "wins", manages to make it down the aisle, and (it always bugs me how this is assumed) changes her name. Wouldn't a "Fletcher" jersey have been a better choice?


I appreciated how Jojo wasn't an expert baseball player...
... because watching all these sports dates and never having a clue who the "celeb" guest athletes are always makes me feel very not-with-the-program. Jojo makes me feel marginally better about myself.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Back in Warsaw, the girls are made to have a very undramatic Girl Chat. (Without Lace, Olivia, or Leah, it's only reasonable conversations and sympathetic nods from here on out.) Becca reveals having developed feelings somewhere along the way...

... which it's safe to say serves as foreshadowing for her eventual elimination. In the evening part of Jojo's date, yet another Girl Chat with Becca is shown, in case you needed further proof that Becca's IN THIS...

Watching this back, I'm disappointed in myself for not seeing Becca's departure coming. These conversations were clearly building up her feelings to make her impending "heartbreak" seem more devastating.

Side note about the above: Timing is everything. It's strange to imagine going on this show and it being the "wrong" guy. For example, my dear friend Christy applied to be on the show before Sean's season (but was ultimately cast for Juan Pablo's), while the lovely Ashley I. (from Chris' season) applied while they were casting Juan Pablo's. There are any number of reasons why a girl might be cast for one season over another, but it's weird to imagine how different your experience might be based on who your Bachelor is. One Bachelor's Night One girl (the term given to the ladies sent home on Night One) could be another's final pick. I know that's obvious, but having gone on the show and having had the experience I had, I find it trippy to think about and imagine how differently things might have turned out. Furthermore, a returning contestant like Becca or Nick Viall—while certainly having experienced two different seasons to the fullest—can't really say they their second journeys were unbiased. After all, by being returning contestants alone, there is a familiarity the lead has with them (from seeing them on television), so we'll never know if they would have made it as far or had the connection they shared if that were their first or only season.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Jojo, like Lauren B, won me over with her self-awareness at how clichéd what she's saying sounds, while Ben proves for the millionth time that he fully gets it...

I have to say, it seems like most Bachelors are consistently drawn most strongly to the women who are the most self-aware and least out-to-lunch.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

GROUP DATE
This date was hilarious. First, I had to laugh when the date opened with the girls, in a limousine and with champagne in hand, were on their way to their "date" looking SO unbelievably over it...


Second, the most ominous, suspenseful music played...
Third, the decorative theme of hay was stolen from Chris' season and taken to the next level...
And last but not least, Ben's obligatory (yet incredibly useless) speech about how tough it is JUST CHOOSE ONE. What woman doesn't like to be told by a man that he feels really good about you... and two of your roommates?

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Also, you know that by Becca telling Ben...

... it only motivated the producers to do whatever it took to make sure she did indeed get blindsided, because FORESHADOWING.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

In the evening, Ben takes Amanda to McDonald's.

Considering it was definitely evening when they went, I was deeply confused by the fact that they both were able to order Egg McMuffins. This sent me down a spiral of googling McDonald's breakfast hours and learning that McDonald's has ALL DAY BREAKFASTS NOW?!! (Ха-ха-ха, Шарлин отстала от жизни, не знала, что произошло такое чудо! :D ) Where was this when I was in high school?!

Oh, and we learn that Ben is terrified of fair rides...
Which is TOTALLY VALID. Holy crap. I have thought this exact same thing hundreds of times but have never developed a proper fear based on it. It's official. I'm now afraid of fair rides, too.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

EMILY'S ONE-ON-ONE
For their first real date, Ben takes Emily to his childhood home and introduces her to his parents. As one does. The date's a bit of a train wreck in that it mostly consists of Emily nervously rambling about how ready she is to get married despite being only 23, how this process has taught her things she didn't even know she needed "growing on", and how she feels average but knows she'd be an above-average wife and mom.

Despite the fact that Emily didn't quite choose her topics properly—it's safe to say Ben's mother might have preferred to simply get to know Emily on a simpler level, not be told what a great potential wife and mother she'd wind up being—I really like Emily. How do I put this? There's a carefulness her that endears her to me...

Emily wants to do and say the right thing, and whether or not she actually does, the fact that she means so well makes up for it. The same goes for her drama with Olivia. It drove her crazy that what she perceived as Olivia being a bully was going unnoticed and unpunished. She went too far in her hatred—the bad breath stuff's a no-no—but it came from a place of wanting to right wrongs. Emily has that righteousness to her that, now that I'm a bit older, I recognize as a trait of youth. I know because I, too, was much more righteous when I was 23. I guess one of the gifts of getting older is mellowing out and accepting you can't right the wrongs which aren't in your control.

When Ben sends Emily home, it's a trademark Bachelor moment. The words, the discomfort, the how-do-I-put-this pauses...
I swear you can see him gulp. This might sound awful, but watching this, I realize that I consider moments like this—his discomfort and the excrutiating awkwardness—to be what makes this show good television, less so her tears after the fact.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

ROSE CEREMONY
You know it had to be freezing for the girls to have been allowed to wear coats for a Rose Ceremony...

One of the above ladies told me it was "miserably cold" that night and many of those coats were bought for them because of it. I've pointed out shivers in Rose Ceremonies before—suffice to say, it's looks over comfort, and they are not afraid to let you freeze your ass off.

For some reason I was shocked Becca went home. I know I said I didn't see much chemistry between her and Ben, but I guess I trusted in some sort of understanding between them, something we weren't seeing through our screens. I also felt after she specifically asked not to be blindsided, there was no way he'd do that to her. So much for that.

I had to laugh at the dichotomy of sheepish Ben, clearly avoiding eye contact with Becca, with doesn't-give-a-rat's-ass Harrison...
Then, as Becca is rightfully pissed about being blindsided the day after specifically asking to not get blindsided...
... the other ladies are made to just stand and wait outside on this balmy evening for what was likely a very long time...

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

One of the questions I'm asked most often is how close the cameras are to you during filming. It varies depending on the situation, but this week's credits provide an excellent (and funny!) example of how close they are during Girl Chats.

And lest you think that's no big deal, you try having a girly chat about your romantic feelings for the same guy while a burly man clad in black films from 10 feet away.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Becca Tilley ‏@beccatilley5
I love yall. Thank u for showing me SO much kindness & love. And @benhiggi -u are wonderful! I feel lucky that I got to know u! #TheBachelor

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Becca Tilley@beccatilley5
Might do a little live tweeting tonight during #thebachelor west coast! Not having to watch myself make out/get dumped will be enjoyable!

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

The Bachelor ‏@BachelorABC · 3m3 minutes ago
All or nothing... #TheBachelor

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

The Bachelor ‏@BachelorABC
Her person...#TheBachelor

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Good Morning America ‏@GMA
Otter you going to do on your date, @LaurenBushnell3?
@BachelorABC #TheBachelor

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)